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Koierf yQolwoil 

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Class. 



Book 



pki:.si;nt):i) hy 



Falling Leaves 



Falling Leaves 

Intermittent Verse 

Robert Bolwell 
ipid 



Edition limited to seventy-five copies. 
This volume is copy number J^y 



7535-03 
,037 F3 



to'. 



fiANSFEWREO PROM 



The Schmehl Press 
Cleveland 



AUS -9 1919 



Contents 

Youth --------- 9 

From Wandrers Nachtlied ----- 10 

Gemma Vitae -------- H 

From Geistes-Grusz ------ 12 

Daybreak -------- ig 

Chant of the Spheres ------ 14 

Hymn ---------16 

The Spirit of a Kiss - 18 

A Gift --------- 21 

Perplexity - - - - - - - - 22 

The Love of a Woman ----- 25 

Song of the Earth ------ 26 

Lullaby --------- 28 

The Little Things of Life ----- 29 



Youth 

Untoward confidence of youth! 

Unreverential years, 
When hope soars high to the smiling sky 

With scorn for weakening fears ; 
When the morning sweetness of man's life 

Expands his lust for power, 
No thought has he on bended knee 

To seek life's faded flower. 

He longs for conflict, manly strife, 

To prove his virgin strength; 
His courage leaps beyond its keeps 

To meet all battles' length. 
His gleaming breastplate, now aglow 

With youthful purity, 
Is doomed to stain, — the Sons of Cain 

Bow down to Earth's decree. 

With virile heat he yet prepares 

To vindicate his scar. 
With heart aright to lead his fight. 

No mythic Avatar. 
The vain ideals lie unemployed, 

Off is illusion's mask. 
With humble mien and mind serene 

He meets the daily task. 



1913 



[ 9 ] 



From "Wanders Nachtlied" 

Goethe, 1776 

Oh Thou Who art in heaven, 

Who grief and pain doth still, — 

Those who art doubly wretched, 
With double comfort fill; 

Of wandering am I weary, 
What matters joy or pain. 

If Thy calm Peace sufficeth, 
Within my breast to reign. 

1913 



[10] 



Qemma Vitae 

"Drink!" 

"Nay, pause ; 

Not in haste, — 

Thou shouldst ponder 

There are other things 

That in life thou must do. 

Thy life's most dear possession 

By thine own hand shall robbed be. 

The soul which thou held dear shall perish 

Thy emptied corpse shall topple o'er the brink. 

And worth, which every man should cherish. 

Shall also die. The God's decree 

Shall punish thy transgression. 

'To thine own self be true.' 

Hadst thou wealth of kings 

Do not squander. 

Lest thou waste 

Thy cause. 

Think!" 

1914 

[11] 



rrom "Qeistes-Qrusz" 

Goethe, 177 If 

High upon the ruined castle 

Broods the spirit of its lord, 
Who to fleeting ships bestows 

His benediction as reward. 

"Hark," he calls, "I too was strong, 
This heart was steadfast, stout and wild ; 

My bosom welled with budding joy 

And cups my brimming youth beguiled. 

"Half my day was rushed away. 

And drowsy sloth laid waste my prime, 

But still yon tiny, peopled barks 

Glide onward through an endless time." 

1914. 



[12] 



Daybreak 

(In picture verse) 

A city shrouded in the mantle of darkness. 

Silent and desolate are the lanes. 

Quiet broods over dwellings, heavy with slumber 

of millions. 
The spirit of the place is at rest, — a tired mother 

with her sons reclining in fond arms. 
Creatures resting from toil. 

Distant rumblings echo in deserted ways; 

the sleeping Thing but stirring in her rest. 
Now no sound is heard. 
Silence throbs, and Fear is born of black night and 

sullen stillness. 
Inaction, Quiet and Death. 

The black curtain of the East parts. 

Leaden grey pierces the air. 

The city stirs with unopened eyes. 

Her champion of Day comes to battle Gloom. 

Ever-increasing noise, heart-bursting expectancy. 
The golden touch of sun; the answering roar of 

salutation from the throat of the refreshed 

earth. 
Creatures stream to toil. 
The work of the world is begun. 

1914 

[13] 



Chant of the Spheres 

Before the birth of time we tuned 

Our natal song of praise, 
From no beginning, to no end, 

We sound our ordered phrase: 
"Glory to God!" 

Our cycled course of vast degree 

Obeys supreme design, 
We are His works, unnumbered, huge, 

Of origin divine: 

"Glory to God!" 

Obedience must be our lot. 

Part of a mighty plan, 
Unswerving through eternity. 

Illimitable span: 

"Glory to God!" 

The utmost suns take up the chant 

Of voiceless harmony. 
Pale moons, wild comets unrestrained, 

Sing through infinity: 
"Glory to God!" 



[14] 



Amidst us, peopled worlds roll by, 
Their destined goal to gain ; 

Their end is formed within His mind, — 
Links of our mighty chain: 
"Glory to God!" 

Before the birth of time we tuned 

Our natal song of praise. 
From no beginning, to no end. 
We sound our ordered phrase: 
"Glory to God!" 

1914 



[16] 



Hymn 

When Thy breath moves in the leaves, 
And Thy gaze illumes the plain, 
When from sleeping hills there heaves 
Sighs of perfume-tinted air, 
I sense the Infinite. 

When elemental nature sings, 
When Thy world resounds the note 
Of votive chant which heaven flings 
Upon an echoing universe, 
I hear the Infinite. 

When o'er the blue arc of Thy sky 
Dark, wind-lashed clouds of anger roll. 
When roar and flask, comingled, fly 
To earth, dread, trembling 'neath the shock, 
I feel the Infinite. 



[16] 



When in my breast the blood leaps up 
In silent bliss, for life Thou gave, 
No thoughts of men can fill my cup 
Of joy, for, comprehending Thee, 
I know the Infinite. 

Spirit of All, to Thee are known 
My hopes, forever barred from words; 
An answering spark in me has grown 
Into an all-consuming fire. 
I share the Infinite. 

1914 



[17] 



The Spirit of a Kiss 

(On a dance in a college building.) 

'Twas nigh the spirit-stirring hour 
When shades of past appear, 

When present fades before the realm 
Of ghosts of former year. 

Minerva's bower had lost its might. 
And Learning was asleep. 

Her shrine, the scene of revelry 
And terpsichorean feat. 

Here students pale, for once untrue 

To their common mistress' charms, 
Foregathered for a midnight dance 



The learned courts reechoed loud 

With swaying Music's call. 
Where silk-clad feet tripped in response 

To smiling Pleasure's thrall. 



[18] 



But, safe within the shelt'ring shade 

Of dim-lit corridor, 
Two rebels wandered from the snare 

Of Thalia's opened door. 

No need had these of common wiles 

To aid Time's even flight, 
Each to the other did suffice 

To lend enjoyment bright. 

Now forth from Wisdom's cells there came 

Stern shades of scholars old, 
Their nightly conclave to convene. 

And sagely discourse hold. 

Then cried the band with dark dismay, 
"Ho, brothers, what of this!" — 

From midst of protest, futile, weak, 
Was heard a ling'ring kiss! 



[19] 



With blushing cheeks and eyes aglow, 

Reflecting paradise, 
The lovers scampered to the dance. 

Affection to disguise. 

The holy shrine had been profaned, 
The virgin goddess weeps. 

No more her halls are undefiled; 
Bold Love no bounds ere keeps. 



E'en now the passing student halts 

About that hallowed spot, 
Where budding Love was votarized, 

And sterner gods forgot. 

Transfigured are the gloomy halls. 
Bright with a new-found bliss, 

A golden memory here resides, — 
The Spirit of a Kiss ! 

1914 



[20] 



AQift 

The year is rushing to a fitful close, 

— Long may it live in tender mem'ry's bloom! — 

And gift-tide draws from friends that sweet 

perfume 
Of love, a free-will offering to repose 
Affection in symbolic guise arrayed; 
But why need I sincerity to mask. 
And thus a gift of trifling value task 
To bare my soul, by petty symbol's aid? 
Then on a friend this simple boon bestow, — 
To pledge affection true, from emblem free, 
And, if devotion should accepted be, 
My daring heeds no bounds, for now I show 
My richest gift, which I to thee impart, — 
Accept the season's greetings, — and my heart. 

1914 



[21] 



Perplexity 

A pond'rous question troubles me, 
Upon which hangs my fate, 

And so, before my lady fair, 
Expectantly I wait. 

For judgment she must render me. 
My joy or doom to speak, 

I trembling hear her verdict dread, 
And plead in accents weak. 

The question, sweet, is learned quite. 
And frightens simple wit. 

My heart, dismayed by cold rebuke. 
Can solve but half of it. 

For naught know I of paradox, 

Be merciful, my dear; 
The tale of my perplexity 

Receive with gracious ear. 



[22] 



Why, if your eyes disclose to me 

A heaven of happiness, 
And lure me thus to win the prize 

Which e'en the gods would bless ; 

Why speak your lips in stern reproof. 

My longing to dismay? 
Your deep eyes tempt in accents rich 

With Cupid's sparkling ray, 

Your beauty's wealth invites my heart 

Unto a feast of joy; 
Why then reject my glad response, 

My utter rapture cloy? 

Why doth enchantment so entice, 
And Cupid's thrall make me, 

If but to punish my delight 
With heartless mockery? 



[28] 



Why, if your being calls to mine 
O'er gulfs of silence chaste, 

If I make joyous answer bold 
And to your side make haste, 

Why is my guerdon but a frown, 

Averted head and sigh? 
My fate I bide from ruby lips. 

Most dreaded judge, tell Why? 

1915 



[24] 



The Love of a Woman 

The earth offers pleasure, contentment and joy, 

With a lavish and outstretched hand. 
There is peace and delight, with a sterner alloy 
Of the struggle and will to command; 

Though the riches of earth to her creatures 

hold call, 
The love of a woman surpasses them all. 

There are terrors of night and ghosts of the day, 

And Horror plays handmaid to Life, 
Fear befriends Failure, points Weakness the way 
To the frightful despair after strife. 

And for each gapes a chasm, a hideous fall, 
But the love of a woman is greater than all. 

Deep in the bosom of earth's hidden self, 

Brood mysteries huge and profound. 
Which baffle, dismay the vain seekers of pelf, 
Who her uttermost secrets would sound; 

Life offers us riddles, tremendous and small, 
But the love of a woman is greatest of all. 

1915 



[25] 



Song of the Earth 

I sing of the old and the new, 

Of joy that is past, and to come. 
Of sorrow as aged as my birth. 

And the tale of the silent and dumb. 

My voice sounds the call of the years, 

Of all that is gone and will be, 
For the shout and the roar of the present 

Has ever been chanted by me. 

My creatures are children of Time 
And Eternity, sucked at my breast. 

From my bosom they rush to their purpose, 
And return there for refuge or rest. 

To the strong I give strength manifold. 

To the weak, nought but weakness and death, 

For the breed who will rule me the longest 
Must rob other species of breath. 



[26] 



For I am the Guardian of Species, 

Of races still-born in the night, 
Of peoples and orders that perish. 

And of beings unstayed for the fight. 

I sing of the old and the new, 

Of joy that is past, and to come. 

Of sorrow as aged as my birth, 

And the tale of the silent and dumb. 

1915 



[27] 



Lullaby 



Golden-tipped sails glide o'er the sea, 
Where lies baby's bark, for him and me. 
Laden with playthings, dollies and toys. 
Just a fine ship for good little boys; 

So go to sleep, my laddie. 

Fast to sleep, my laddie. 

Fairies and angels are waiting for thee. 

For you and for me ; 
Go to sleep, my laddie. 
Mother's darling laddie, 
Fast to the heart-land of Mother and Boy, 

For you and for me: 

With baby's dear hand fast in my own, 
For sonny can't get there all alone. 
Together we'll sail out after the sun. 
And find there a day not yet begun. 

There we shall dance 'til dawn of day. 
Sweet tired dear, with heaps of play. 
Then back to our beds at break of light, — 
So now let us tell all the world "Good Night !" 

1916 



[28] 



Little Things of Life 

A patch of sunlight on a darksome wall, 

The golden thread in hair of aged white, 

A song of love amid the brawl of fight. 

And notes of laughter through a heart-sick call; 

The smile of sweetness in a melting tear, 

A hand of pity, raised to stay the knout, 

The trustful glance in times of stinging doubt, 

And gentle whispers to a shame-bowed ear; 

A mother's prayer for trespasses untold, 

A sigh, replacing words of burning wrath, 

A stalwart arm along a rocky path. 

And dimpled fingers woven with the old; 

Oh God of Things that make our striving strife, 
We thank Thee for the little things of life ! 

1916 



[29] 



